Derby Calls

Well, it is that time of the year when we prepare for the wonderful holiday called the Kentucky Derby. Nobody fights, no presents to buy, no preparations to make other than scoring some mint to make juleps.

This year on Melody's birthday, May 1st, the Kentucky Derby will renew its Run for the Roses for the 147th time.

It is a wonderful day, when hundreds of thousands of people cram into Churchill Downs to watch a 2-minute horse race! The media stays out of the sun/rain in a press tent all day, with soft drinks and snacks to keep them company. However, my first Derby was not blessed with the technology as Churchill has today, I was 24 years old, and I had no idea what the Derby was all about. I didn't even know who the jockeys were, thought Pat Day was a lady..hah. Today, I am older and wiser ~ Lollyroses.🎀

When I first went to the Derby in 1981, there were not as many modern-day conveniences as there are now. You had to sneak your alcohol in, that's still true, but to have a good time meant you had to get there at 7 or 8 in the morning, had to get a sunburn, and you might be forced to slide in mud all day. Showing your boobs was very much encouraged, but I was there for bets, not flashing teats. Also a strong bladder was a must!

Accordingly, I no longer have any interest to go TO the Derby. It's too hot, still not enough bathrooms, and there are too many people!

I also have no interest in waking up at 5 a.m. to get to Churchill by seven or eight in the dark morning. I went for several years with Enzina, my super photographer pal and boss from my days at the Thoroughbred Record.

Z asked me to assist her at the Derby, and it was the pleasure of a lifetime. The tasks she asked of me were easy (like pressing the shutter button on one of her cameras at the finish line) and I was happy to be among all the celebrities all day.

With press credentials, I was treated like royalty, and I got to explore everywhere, even the room where the roses are kept, even the lilies for the day before when the Kentucky Oaks is run!

It was great fun but as any Derby journalist will tell you, the Derby maybe called "the fastest 2 minutes" but it truly one of the longest days in sports!

Sure we all enjoy the magic of the day, but there is a whole lot of work that goes into the Run for the Roses -- from jockeys to starting gatemen to tellers to bartenders -- and all that mega-monster held every first Saturday in May encompasses.

Though I appreciate the opportunity to be among the sweet sideshows of Thoroughbred business, I am simply too old to continue getting up and going to Churchill Downs every year to watch the Kentucky Derby with 100K people. Next year, I will be safe in my Oakley apartment, and hopefully my great-grandchildren will be running around and picking names out of a hat for their Derby horse!

This year, who do I like? I have no idea yet. I do believe that Baffert's ESSENTIAL QUALITY has a chance...but I really must study now!